Dorsal Patch and Chemical Signaling in Males of the Long-Nosed Bat,Leptonycteris curasoae(Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Constitutive Innate Immunity of Migrant and Resident Long-Nosed Bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) in the Drylands of Mexico

In contrast to birds, the relationship between migration and immunity has been scarcely studied in bats. We examined how the expression of the humoral portion of the constitutive immunity varied in a bat with partial, sex-biased migration: the lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Phyllostomidae)). The lesser long-nosed bat is a nectarivorous species distributed in the arid and semi-arid regions of North and Central America. We evaluated the bacteria-killing abilities (BKAs) of the plasma of male and female lesser long-nosed bats on the Pacific coast in different periods of the year. Because adult males are resident, they were used to explore the effect of reproductive activity on BKA, and we predicted higher values in mating males (i.e., individuals presenting scrotal testicles and a fresh dorsal patch). In contrast to males, most females migrate to cactus deserts in northern Mexico during pregnancy and lactation, and then return to the dry forests of west-central Mexico to mate. We predicted that the combined effect of breeding and migration would have an adverse effect on BKA; therefore, migratory pregnant and lactating females were expected to exhibit a lower BKA than mating females in west-central Mexico. We compared the BKAs of females captured in October and December in central Mexico, and we predicted that migratory females that had recently arrived in October should exhibit a lower BKA than females captured two months later. In addition, we compared the BKAs between lactating females and young in northern Mexico and predicted lower values in recently born individuals. We found that the BKAs of males were higher in reproductive individuals than in non-reproductive individuals. We found a significant difference in the BKAs between females at the two extremes of their migratory range: the values of pregnant females in Sonora and females in December were higher than those of females captured in October. Finally, we found no difference in BKAs between lactating females and young individuals. Our findings indicate that the basal levels of the innate humoral component are heightened in mating males, that this response is reduced in females that recently returned to their mating grounds, and that the constitutive immunity of young individuals matures early, probably in anticipation of the potential to encounter pathogens during their migration to west-central Mexico.

Non-visual cues and indirect strategies that enable discrimination of asymmetric mates

The postulates of developmental instability-sexual selection hypothesis is intensely debated among evolutionary biologists, wherein despite a large amount of empirical data, evidence for or against it has been largely inconclusive. A key assumption of this hypothesis is that animals assess symmetry in potential mates as an indicator of genetic quality (developmental stability), and consequently use this information to discriminate against those with higher asymmetries while choosing mates. However, the perceptional basis that must underlie such discriminatory behavior (is symmetry a signal or is symmetry signaled) is not clearly defined. It is also argued that since asymmetry levels in natural populations are very low, the low signal-to-noise ratio would make accurate assessment of symmetry both difficult and costly. Rather than attempting to validate this hypothesis or even as to whether animals assess mate symmetry, this review simply aims to examine the plausibility that animals perceive symmetry (directly or indirectly) and consequently discriminate against asymmetric mates in response to perceived irregularities during courtship. For this, we review mate choice and courtship literature to identify potential sensory cues that might advertise asymmetry or lead to discrimination of asymmetric individuals. Although signaling associated with mate choice is commonly multimodal, previous studies on asymmetry have mainly focused on visual perception. In the light of a recent study (Vijendravarma et al., 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119, e2116136119), this review attempts to balance this bias by emphasizing on non-visual perception of asymmetry. In conclusion, we discuss the methodological challenges associated with testing the role of multimodal cues in detecting mate asymmetry, and highlight the importance of considering ecological, behavioral, and evolutionary aspects of animals while interpreting empirical data that test such hypothesis.

Microbiota composition of the dorsal patch of reproductive male Leptonycteris yerbabuenae

Bacteria and other types of microbes interact with their hosts in several ways, including metabolic pathways, development, and complex behavioral processes such as mate recognition. During the mating season, adult males of the lesser long-nosed agave pollinator bat Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) develop a structure called the dorsal patch, which is located in the interscapular region and may play a role in kin recognition and mate selection. Using high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, we identified a total of 2,847 microbial phylotypes in the dorsal patches of eleven specimens. Twenty-six phylotypes were shared among all the patches, accounting for 30 to 75% of their relative abundance. These shared bacteria are distributed among 13 families, 10 orders, 6 classes and 3 phyla. Two of these common bacterial components of the dorsal patch are Lactococcus and Streptococcus. Some of them-Helcococcus, Aggregatibacter, Enterococcus, and Corynebacteriaceae-include bacteria with pathogenic potential. Half of the shared phylotypes belong to Gallicola, Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Proteus, Staphylococcus, Clostridium, and Peptostreptococcus and specialize in fatty acid production through fermentative processes. This work lays the basis for future symbiotic microbe studies focused on communication and reproduction strategies in wildlife.

LG. Allocation of endogenous nutrients for reproduction in the lesser long-nosed bat ( Leptonycteris yerbabuenae ) in central Mexico

In contrast to birds, the contribution of body reserves to sustain reproductive activities of migratory bats has not being examined. We used C stable isotope analysis to track the importance of nutrients stored in body tissues of the lesser long-nosed bat ( Leptonycteris yerbabuenae ) in Central Mexico. The bat migrates seasonally between areas dominated by vegetation types with contrasting C stable isotope values: in spring–summer, it forages in cactus forests before commuting to dry and wet forests, where mating and births occur. We collected breath and whole blood from nonreproductive individuals in a cactus forest in spring–mid-summer, from mating individuals in an evergreen forest in mid-late summer, and from lactating females in winter in a tropical deciduous forest. We also collected hair and milk from lactating females and several tissues from naturally aborted fetus in late autumn. We tested the hypothesis that nutrient reserves accumulated in cactus forest contribute to the maintenance of adults when they commute to their reproductive grounds, to the construction of offspring tissues during pregnancy, and to the production of milk. The importance of energy stores accumulated in cactus forests to fuel oxidative metabolism was marginal for mating males but it was high for some mating females. Nutrient stores accumulated in cactus forests contributed to ~50% of synthesis of fetus tissues but their contribution for milk production was negligible. Female lesser long-nosed bats can be described as capital-income breeders in relation to the development of offspring during gestation and as incomer breeders in relation to lactation.

En contraste con las aves, la contribución de las reservas corporales para mantener las actividades reproductivas no ha sido evaluada en los murciélagos migratorios. En este estudio, usamos análisis de isótopos estables de C para reconstruir la importancia de los nutrientes almacenados en los tejidos del murciélago magueyero menor ( Leptonycteris yerbabuenae ) en el centro de México. Este murciélago migra estacionalmente entre áreas dominadas por tipos de vegetación con valores contrastantes de isótopos estables de C: la especie forrajea en bosques de cactáceas en primavera-verano antes de moverse a bosques secos y húmedos donde ocurren el apareamiento y los nacimientos. Se colectaron muestras de aliento y sangre entera de individuos no reproductivos en un bosque de cactáceas en primavera y mediados del verano, de individuos en etapa de apareamiento en un bosque húmedo a mediados y finales del verano, y de hembras lactantes en el invierno en un bosque seco tropical. Además, se colectaron muestras de pelo y leche de las hembras lactantes, y de varios tejidos de fetos a finales del otoño. Se probó la hipótesis de que las reservas de nutrientes acumuladas en el bosque de cactáceas contribuyen al mantenimiento de los adultos cuando se mueven a sus sitios de apareamiento, a la construcción de tejidos de las crías durante la preñez, y a la producción de leche. La importancia de las reservas de energía acumuladas en los bosques de cactáceas fue marginal para los machos y fue alta para algunas hembras durante el apareamiento. Los nutrientes acumulados en los bosques de cactáceas contribuyeron en hasta el 50% de la síntesis de tejidos de los fetos pero su contribución para la producción de leche fue de poca importancia. Las hembras de los murciélagos magueyeros menores siguen una estrategia reproductiva mixta de uso de reservas acumuladas y de nutrientes externos en relación al desarrollo de las crías durante la gestación, y una estrategia de uso de nutrientes externos en relación a la lactancia.